Thanks Deborah!

We allow RTW for worker’s comp of all employees and work very hard to find appropriate positions within limitations. Many times RNs can do projects for QA, case managers, DNV or JCAHO (and even in Employee Health) that require their professional knowledge. We absolutely do everything we can to return someone to some sort of work as fast as possible.

We do not allow anyone with a personal injury or illness to return until cleared for full duty without restrictions and have a hospital policy for that purpose.  Even when the employee is cleared by a personal provider, the employee must bring a note to that effect from the provider and be cleared by us at EHS based on the employee’s job description.

Deborah A. Sampson, PhD, APRN, COHN-S, FAANP

Director

Employee Health and Wellness Services

Southern New Hampshire Health   P.O.Box 2014   8 Prospect Street   Nashua, NH 03060

p(603) 281-8583  f (603) 577-5665

deborah.sampson@snhhealth.org

We have a hospital policy that states an RN on modified duty cannot return to his/her unit until he/she is released to Full Duty and has passed a Lift Test.   I am interested in #1 whether other health care systems have experience with allowing those injured nurses to be able to return to their own units as long as they are able to work within their accommodations and #2 do other healthcare systems utilize a Lift Test or other functional job evaluation before allowing the injured employee back to Full Duty?

Thanks, I have enjoyed following the interchange of information on this Occ Med network.

Randall S. Fowler, MD

Medical Director 

Portneuf Medical Center

Employee Health & WorkMed

500 S. 11^th  Suite 500

Pocatello, Idaho 83201

208-239-1940 clinic / 208-239-4506 fax

Randall.Fowler@portmed.org

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